1. Related Field
Embodiments described herein relate generally to providing services in roaming network environments.
2. Description of Related Art
A mobile telephone user may experience “roaming fees” when using a mobile telephone outside his “home” environment, e.g., when he is traveling abroad or anywhere his mobile operator does not provide mobile services. The roaming fees in many instances may be very high and may apply to both voice and data services. In addition, the user may not know what these roaming fees will be until he receives his bill. In particular, a user may be charged per byte of data transmitted or received, a number that may extremely difficult for the user to determine while using a data service, for example. This situation may discourage use of a mobile phone when traveling.
Such billing situations may arise when a user's home operator enters into contracts with mobile operators in areas where the home operator does not provide service, e.g., contracts with “roaming operators.” The roaming operator, and sometimes the home operator, may have little incentive to negotiate contracts between each other that would allow simple billing arrangements for customers.